Eduardo Rendón-Quintero1, Rodolfo Rodríguez-Gómez2. 1. Hospital Kennedy, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia. Electronic address: edurendon@yahoo.com. 2. Diagnóstico Ocular del Country.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Suicide is a major public health problem. It covers about half of violent deaths and results in approximately one million deaths annually. Although completed suicide rates in Colombia are relatively low when compared with other countries, suicidal behavior, represented not only by completed suicide, is a significant mental health problem. OBJECTIVE: To understand life experiences of a group of subjects related to the phenomenon of ideation and suicide attempt. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study with a psychodynamic approach. In-depth interviews were conducted in order to explore thought processes, emotions, motivations and experiences that underlie and accompany the suicide attempt. RESULTS: Five women and 3 men were interviewed. The average age was 29 years. The exploration of subjective experiences in the present study showed that loneliness and psychic pain were linked to hopelessness, pessimism and discouragement. Also, the illusion of death represents an invitation to suicide attempt. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider the subjective assessment that patients with suicidal risk make of their depression and stressful life situations. Additionally, the concepts of loneliness and psychic pain have a leading role in the interaction between discourse and the experiences of the participants interviewed.
INTRODUCTION: Suicide is a major public health problem. It covers about half of violent deaths and results in approximately one million deaths annually. Although completed suicide rates in Colombia are relatively low when compared with other countries, suicidal behavior, represented not only by completed suicide, is a significant mental health problem. OBJECTIVE: To understand life experiences of a group of subjects related to the phenomenon of ideation and suicide attempt. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative study with a psychodynamic approach. In-depth interviews were conducted in order to explore thought processes, emotions, motivations and experiences that underlie and accompany the suicide attempt. RESULTS: Five women and 3 men were interviewed. The average age was 29 years. The exploration of subjective experiences in the present study showed that loneliness and psychic pain were linked to hopelessness, pessimism and discouragement. Also, the illusion of death represents an invitation to suicide attempt. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider the subjective assessment that patients with suicidal risk make of their depression and stressful life situations. Additionally, the concepts of loneliness and psychic pain have a leading role in the interaction between discourse and the experiences of the participants interviewed.